Security Council urges disarming of Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias

In a non-binding statement unanimously adopted by its 15 members, the council "notes with regret that some provisions of resolution 1559 have yet to be implemented, namely the disbanding and disarming of Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias."

Other provisions still remaining to be implemented include "the strict respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity, and political independence of Lebanon, and free and fair presidential elections conducted according to the Lebanese constitutional rules, without any foreign interference and influence."

The council renewed its call for "the full implementation of Security Council resolution 1559 and urged all concerned states and parties ... to cooperate fully with the government of Lebanon, the Security Council and the Secretary General to achieve this goal."

UN special envoy Terje Roed Larsen meanwhile told reporters that he had been informed by Lebanese authorities that arms were still being smuggled into the country from neighboring Syria, but said they gave no details on quantities or types of weapons.

"In order to have an effective arms embargo, there has to be cooperation with all regional partners, (including) Syria and Iran," he noted. "We are encouraging all to be helpful regarding all the provisions of 1559."

US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton, for his part, welcomed the Beirut government's "significant progress ... in deploying the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) in the south of the country for the first time in almost 40 years, as well as the LAF's historic deployment along the eastern part of the Blue Line, as well as along Lebanon's border with Syria."

"Despite this advance, we continue to be concerned that Syria and Iran are actively trying to destabilize the democratically-elected Government of Lebanon, in contravention of Resolution 1559's call for strict respect for Lebanon's sovereignty and political independence," Bolton said.

"Each UN member state also has an obligation to enforce the arms embargo established by Resolution 1701," he added. "Syrian President Assad made a commitment to (UN) Secretary-General (Kofi) Annan that Syria would support the implementation of Resolution 1701 and comply with its obligation to enforce the arms embargo; Syria must abide by the promises it made to the Secretary General."

In line with resolution 1559 which also called for the withdrawal of foreign troops, Syria withdrew its troops from Lebanon in 2005 after 29 years of military and political domination of its smaller neighbor.

Lebanon's Iranian-backed Hezbollah was involved in a month-long war with Israel in south Lebanon which ended with a UN-brokered truce in August under UN Security Council resolution 1701.

That resolution also called for the disarming of Hezbollah guerrillas and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon.

The Security Council also welcomed Annan's report earlier this month which stated that turning Hezbollah into a "solely political party" is the key to permanent peace in Lebanon and to full restoration of the country's sovereignty.

It stressed that to achieve this goal, "on the path toward the greater objective of consolidating the Lebanese state" it was essential that "all parties who have influence in Lebanon support a constructive political process."

Under Resolution 1701, Lebanon is to secure its border and entry points to prevent the passage of illicit arms or related material. The resolution authorizes UNIFIL to assist Lebanon in this task if requested.

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